Learning to pipe rosettes and elaborate borders on cakes is challenging. The techniques are not necessarily intuitive because not only do they require a steady hand moving in a specific pattern, but they require a detailed knowledge of the various tips available in a cake decorating kit to produce the dots, shells, lace and flowers. Once you get the hang of it all, decorating an entire cake might only take minutes, but until that time, it can be a lengthy process (unless you just use chocolate). Ideally, you’ll be able to find someone to guide you through the necessary techniques, but Bake Decorate Celebrate! (a division of Wilton) offers a very helpful online guide to producing dozens of different icing patterns. Just make up a test batch of royal icing and practice with it, following their instructions. You’ll be piping like a pro in no time.
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